Long Winter

Spring officially started 4 days ago. I am not quite sure if anyone has told Mother Nature that yet but we are expecting her to show up soon! Perhaps she will get the memo that there are lot of unhappy people right now. Of course, that didn't seem to bother her when people across the country were murmuring about Old Man Winter! 

As much as I love winter I will admit that I am looking forward to our front yard sporting vibrant green rather than drab brown. I am eager to see the transformation of trees as they get a new wardrobe for spring. And, of course, there is always the breathtaking blooms that burst open in the warmth of the season. 

Spring is an awesome testament of renewal and regeneration! It is a reminder that no matter how long the winter lingers, there is always an awakening. So while we seem to be having a sleepy awakening, it won't be long till spring is wide awake. 

Bring on the springtime!

Milestones

There is nothing that makes me feel like I am in a time warp more than realizing that it has been 5 years today that Tim finished his radiation and chemo for throat cancer. Anyone living in the world of cancer knows that 5 years is the magic number to reach with no recurrences and reach it we have!

It was on Friday, March 13th, 2009 that Tim completed his 35th radiation treatment. It was a big day for him being that days before he questioned if he could even endure to the point of completion. But, endure he did!  Funny that back then we thought that was the bright spot – to be done with the treatments that caused so much distress. Little did we know then that it would get worse (for about 6 weeks) before it got better and then celebration seemed more appropriate.  

It was a glorious spring 5 years ago, in so many ways. That year the trees and flowers were nothing short of splendid. Each blossoming tree and nodding flower seems to be a call of renewal after the long winter. It seemed to coincide with the renewal of Tim's life after his own long winter. As nature came alive before our eyes, so did Tim.  

Spring 2009

My sister came from New York and was here for Tim's last day of treatment. In celebration she bought some pansies to plant to cheer our hearts. There is probably not a happier flower than a pansy with their bright patterned petals that look like faces!


Abigail and Annah 5 years ago! (Okay, so they are agonizing over these pictures!)

       

                          

Abigail and Annah with their dad in October 2013

Tim and I in June 2009 - our 24th wedding anniversary

Through this entire journey we have been greatly blessed. We have seen the hand of the Lord at each curve in the road. And on that road we have been surrounded by angels, both seen and unseen. The words of Jeffrey R. Holland say it well, 

"Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind." 

Yes, we have had so many around us that fit that description and words fail to express what their presence has meant in our lives. We are grateful beyond words for the prayers, kindness, tenderness, caring, thoughtfulness and love that have accompanied and upheld when cancer called our name. Our hearts of full and so are our lives.

 We, in the in Valenta household, are looking forward to another splendid spring as we celebrate life and love, renewal and hope.

 But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. 

Psalms 71:14

Winter, cover your ears!

Here it is March in Kentucky and winter is still hanging on for all its worth. The kids have been out of school for about 17 days so far this winter.(Don't quote me on that number because seriously, I have lost track but it's something close to that!) This winter we have seen double our usual snow and frigid temperatures that qualified us to be card carrying members of the Polar Vortex Club. 

You won't hear me utter complaints though because winter and I get along just fine! While we do get along just fine, I can think of just two things that I don't like about winter. 

Winter, cover your ears so you don't hear the blasphemy I am about to speak!

The two things that I don't like about winter is 1)because of drier air, my hair has major static (boo-hiss) and 2)my skin is much drier and can be itchy. There I said it.... 

But that is all... The rest -- the cold, the snow, the ice, snowmen, fuzzy socks, corn bags, sweaters, snowflakes on the window (paper or real!), the snow days, the anticipation of what a storm will bring -- I love it all!  

So even though I love those things, it IS March! I think I need to take down my paper snowflakes that have adorned our window since early December. It has been my experience that when I decide to take down the paper snowflakes, that is when winter loosens it's grip and bids farewell. So I just want you to know that I am doing this for all the snow haters out there!! 

 Farewell, winter. Till we meet again next year....

"The cold never bothered me anyway!"

(a quote from my favorite movie, Frozen)

Church Girls

Ahh, my church girls.... Here are a few pictures that they apparently took with my phone while in church over a period of weeks given their wardrobe changes. :) 

"Yes mom, we ARE paying attention!"

Yup, sure you are! :)

Love the fingers.....

This past Sunday they had my phone for a while and handed it back. They then picked up their phones and said, "Sheesh Mom! What are you doing?"

I'll admit that I was clueless as to what they were talking about. Then they showed me that they both had received dozens of notifications that *I* had liked each and every one of their Instagram photos!!  Hahaha....they "liked" them all for me!! 

What is this two hour delay you speak of?

With 12 snow days under our belt I guess the school district decided to shake things up a bit and go for a delay instead of closing. In my opinion the 2 hour delay was a test to see just how much 12 snow days have affected the education of our children and consequently, their parents. Read on....

This was the post on Facebook from Jessamine County Schools announcing the 2-HR Delay....

Jessamine County Schools will be operating on a 2-HR DELAY on 

Tuesday, February 11.
 
There will be no AM preschool, zero block high school classes, or 

middle school classes at JCTC due to the delay.

Doesn't seem so difficult, does it? Well, apparently it WAS. These are some of the responses to the 2 hour delay message:

Logan So what time will we go too sch

Tyler What time should I go to the bus

Carol My son has his first class of the day at JCTC instead of WJH. Should he report to WHS or JCTC? Thank you.

Becki Do they get out on their regular schedule????

Talaiya So I would go to school at 10 something since im in middle school at west jessamine.

Kimberly What If ur bus picks u up at 8

Sabrina WES starts at 10:00? Is that right? I know just ad two hours but just wanna make sure.

Hillary idk what time do send my child to the bus stop?

Amber So we don't have jctc for 4 and 5 today

Hannah so will the buses still come and what time?

Haley ok, but what time cause I don't wanna miss it , I usually get on around 7:21 - 7:25 , so I need to be at my bus stop when?

Jackie If you have a meeting at school scheduled at 830 would it be canceled

Haley are the buses gonna be picking me up still?

Kara So for elementary schools, school won't end until 4:50?

Dora so what time will JELV start

AprilRose what classes will we have to day

BriAnne People's inability to figure out the 2 hour delay is probably why they never use it! Good grief people it's not that hard!

Cody Tyler please pay attention, and read other posts. What does two hour delay mean? Delay your normal schedule 2 hours...

Karen Cracking up for sure!! Looks like we need some extended math class. This should not be this difficult. Kudos to the admin and kudos to jessamine county schools for using the delay our kids obviously need to be in school!!

Jenny I wouldn't have the patience to be the admin. for this page. I am cracking up.

Vivian Are yall really asking what time???? Shaking my head... and this is why we NEED to have school in session

Samantha Guys, seriously it's not hard to figure out. ADD TWO HOURS. Good grief.

Cody I apologize to you, Jessamine County Schools, for the people who do not read the previous posts, causing you to have to repeat yourself 700 times

Hollyanne Thanks Jessamine County Schools nice to see a two hour delay instead of close  see that Math really is needed since SO many can't understand how to add 2 hours to Reg time.... Geez if your school normally starts at 8 am then add 2 hours which makes 10 am start. WHEW that was hard.. oh buses if you normally get picked up at 7:05 then add 2 hours and pick up will be at 9:05 Instead. Oh that was harder my brain hurts now. LOL

Jason Did half of Jessamine county forget how to add. Wow (shaking my head)

Tara This is too funny. I need to stop reading the posts and get my kids ready for school. JCS operator behind the screen, I have said it before... you are awesome. Thank you for your time and efforts.

BWHAHAHAHA! You just can't make this stuff up! :) 

Bright Spot

I think Mother Nature has heard my pleas for snow and she has given Kentucky a winter that I can be proud of! Ah, maybe not a lot of snow (the most we've had is maybe 3 or 4 inches at a time) but what she didn't give in accumulation she made up for in cold and ice! The kids have spent a lot of days out of school -- as of today they have been out for 12 days and there has only been one full week of school since they let out for Christmas break! We most always have snow days but this year we've had a lot more than what is normal for us. Some of the days off were for sub-zero temperatures, some for snow and some for ice. 

Recently we had freezing rain that coated the trees from top to bottom. When that ice came it closed school for several days and while we have not had temperatures above freezing since the ice came, the roads improved with time and salt. The trees, however are still wearing their ice coats and in the brilliant sun they appear to be dressed in diamonds!  It's more stunning than I have the ability to capture with my camera lens but I had to try. 

These next ice pictures were taken on a different day when the sun was not shining so the ice didn't sparkle but it was so massive I was awestruck!

I know there are many who have disdain for winter and I am thankful that I am not one of them. Winter doesn't make me murmur or make me grumpy. But for those that curse the days of winter remember,

"No winter lasts forever, no spring skips its turn."

~Hal Borland~

So enjoy it while it is here! :)

Merry Christmas 2013!

I have not posted on my blog in quite a while. Life has been a wee bit hectic for our family, in a good way. I have a job that I have been working since the week before Thanksgiving and it has turned life a little on it's head in the Valenta household! But we did manage to get a Christmas picture taken and a letter written -- YAY for small victories!

Merry Christmas from the Valenta’s!

Ahhh, it is that time of year again to send Christmas greetings to our family and friends! We love this time of year, even with all the hustle and bustle, as we can pause to remember all we have been blessed with and what is truly important in our lives. It is our hope that each of us can reflect a little longer on the real reason for celebration this time of year, our Savior Jesus Christ.

As you can tell from the above picture we have a few less people around the house these days!

·         Tim and Lisa still call Arizona home. They made a trip back to Kentucky in late May and we had such fun seeing sights and catching up and even making a silent movie while they were here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xKEEjiTIMzI#at=24

·         Andrew (26) lives here in Nicholasville and continues to have a busy work schedule so we don’t get to see him as often as we’d like but he was able to get away and go to Cumberland Falls with us when Tim and Lisa were visiting. It was great to have almost the whole family together, with the exception of Jordan who was away at school.

·         Jordan (23) was at school at BYU-Idaho and then transferred to BYU-Provo. He is working hard in his studies and is wanting to go to medical school. He’s still deciding exactly what field of study he wants to pursue but is volunteering at clinics for flu shots and working on getting his EMT certification and doing well.

·         Jacob (20 soon) moved out of the house in May and is sharing an apartment with 2 other guys. He does stop home every now and then and doesn’t even bring his laundry with him so that’s a good sign…we think! He is working and in his spare time he is pursuing his computer programming interests.

·         Abigail (16) is a junior in high school and she continues to love playing volleyball. She has played for 4 years on her school team. It’s been a big year for her as she got her driving permit and officially hit the dating age! She is now counting the days till she can get her license (…mom and dad, not so much!) She is also involved in the drama club where their next production is The Wizard of Oz!

·         Annah (14) is in 8^th grade and looking forward to high school next year. She is also in the drama club and becoming a pretty good Spanish speaker! She likes to play piano and learn new songs. Right now her dad is teaching her how to play a piano piece that he wrote and she is learning it really well. I have trouble telling which one of them is playing the song when I am in another room!

·         Tim and I are ever grateful for the blessings and miracles we see all around us everyday. Tim is approaching his 5 year mark since his throat cancer treatment ended and he has had nothing but great reports! We are thankful for the tender mercies that we have seen along the way. There are no shortages of blessings in our lives for sure!

We do hope that this Christmas season will fill your heart with love and find you focused on the things that matter most in life. May we each remember that “If, in the end, you have not chosen Jesus Christ it will not matter what you have chosen.” ~ Neal A. Maxwell.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!